17
Raphael Warnock. Of the other 98 seats in the cham-
ber, Republicans currently hold 50 while Democrats
hold 48. Trump’s phantom claims of rampant vot-
ing irregularities pitted Georgia Republicans against
one another, with Perdue and Loeffler calling on the
GOP secretary of state to resign despite no evidence
of fraud on his watch.
The Senate has its work cut out just getting to Jan-
uary. Before the election, McConnell tried to unite
Senate Republicans behind a new COVID-19 relief
package but failed in part because of mixed signals
from the White House. Congress has been laboring to
put together spending bills to keep the government
running past the Dec. 11 expiration of funds. Both
those tasks were complicated by the election stand-
off; the White House has reportedly instructed fed-
eral agencies to continue drafting a budget proposal
for presentation in February.It’s another sIgn that Trump, rather than work-
ing through the stages of grief, is digging in. The head
of White House personnel reportedly put out word
that any staffers caught job hunting would be fired.
Trump seized the moment to settle scores: in addi-
tion to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, he pushed out
top officials at the National Nuclear Security Admin-
istration, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
and the U.S. Agency for International Development.Washington buzzed about the possible dismissals of
the FBI director, Chris Wray, and CIA director, Gina
Haspel. Some observers wondered whether Trump
might follow through on his pre-election musings
and try to get rid of prominent government scien-
tists such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx
whose reality-based pandemic assessments have
made him look bad.
The President has already begun issuing Execu-
tive Orders and rules that the incoming Adminis-
tration opposes. He has proposed regulations that
would make a large proportion of the civil service
subject to political oversight, allow the sale of oil and
gas permits in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Ref-
uge and require the renewal of regulations under the
purview of the Health and Human Services Depart-
ment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued that last
rule would burden the Food and Drug Administration
at a time when the agency’s attention should be fo-
cused on a coronavirus vaccine. Liberals expect more
last-minute deregulation is in the works.
The President has pushed to cement his for-
eign policies as well. Trump keeps piling sanctions
on Iran, making it more difficult for Biden to undo
them. He appears committed to carrying out the
peace deal signed with the Taliban in Afghanistan,
even though its forces continue to attack Ameri-
can allies and the civilian population. He has yet to20 25 30 1 5 10 15
DEC. 14
Electors vote
in their states
Electors convene in their
states and cast ballots. The
votes are counted, and the
electors sign certificates
finalizing the results.
Potential obstacles Some
electors may turn out to
be “faithless”—meaning
they cast a vote for a
candidate other than the one
reflecting their state voters’
preference. Election experts
say that given Biden’s
relatively large lead, such
electors are unlikely to make
a difference in the outcome.
DEC. 23
Electoral votes head
to Washington, D.C.
Those certificates must be
delivered to Vice President
Mike Pence, in his capacity
as Senate president, as well
as the national archivist and
state representatives.
Potential obstacles Once
the congressional count
starts in January, lawmakers
can still object to electoral
votes. Objections must be
submitted in writing by at
least one member of the
House and Senate, then
accepted with a majority vote
in both chambers.JAN. 6
The new Congress
counts the vote
Pence officially declares the
winner of the 2020 election.
Potential obstacles Pence,
who presides over this
session, holds the tie-
breaking vote in the Senate
should any disputes arise.
If no candidate reaches
270 electoral votes, the
decision goes to the House
of Representatives, where
state delegations vote to
select the next President.
The Senate selects the
Vice President.JAN. 20
Biden is
inaugurated
Biden and Vice President–
elect Kamala Harris are
expected to take their oaths
of office on Jan. 20, 2021.
Potential obstacles None
that would help President
Trump remain in office. If
all the previous steps have
gone wrong and there is
still no resolution to the
race on Inauguration Day,
federal law mandates that
the incumbent nevertheless
vacates the White House.
He is temporarily replaced by
the Speaker of the House.